Think of it as the difference between “what are you doing?” and “what’s up bro?”.

You can use the first one with anyone but the second sentence, used in the wrong context, would offend people.

3. Not greeting a seller when you enter a shop is rude

On my first trip to Russia, I was surprised to see that many people enter shops without greetings the sales person.

At first, I thought “wow Russian people are so rude!”.

Then I realized that’s simply normal in Russia and isn’t considered rude at all.

In France, it’s the opposite.

You should always greet the seller when you enter a shop.

If the person is on the phone or seems busy, simply nod.

When you leave, make sure you say “au revoir” (goodbye).

4. Even if you feel that your accent is terrible, make sure you say “bonjour” and not “hello”.

Want to bring a smile to French people’s faces?

Speak their language!

You don’t need to speak perfectly, you don’t even need to be able to hold a conversation.

You just need to say “bonjour”.

It sounds obvious but I hear lots of people enter French shops and say “hello”.

Sure, that’s better than nothing but it also screams “I care so little about your country and culture that I’ m not even going to bother learning how to say “hello” in French”.

People are much friendlier when they see you make an effort to speak their language. A few basic words go a long way.

I saw how true this was when I was teaching French in Korea.

Every time I entered a shop, the sales person had a look that probably meant something like “great I’ll have to speak English now and sound ridiculous”. But as soon as they heard me speak Korean, they would suddenly relax and become super friendly.

If you’re a woman, you usually kiss friends, family members and sometimes acquaintances.

If you’re a man you only kiss people of the opposite sex.

These are of course general rules and depend on your environment.

For example, I always kiss members of my family on the cheek, whether they’re men or women.

Hugging is only an option with close friends and family.

If kissing is awkward for you, remember that hugging is equally awkward for French people.

In France, you hug your special one, sometimes close friends, but that’s it.

Most people will feel uncomfortable if you try to hug them. It’s considered too intimate.

In fact, there is no word for “hug” in French. The closest French word, “câlin”, has a romantic meaning and is closer to “cuddle”.

4 ways to say “hello” in French

Bonjour (hello, good morning)

“Bonjour” is the most common French word and a word you probably already know.

More than a simple greeting, “bonjour” is the key to being considered a friendly and polite person in France.

Use it whenever you meet someone new or enter a shop and people will happily help you.

Forget to use it or say “hello” instead and people will wonder where you got your manners and remember you as a rude tourist.

Bonsoir (good evening)

Literally “good evening”, “bonsoir” is the magic French greeting word people use when the sun goes down.

Like “bonjour”, “bonsoir” is a safe word you can use with everyone without fearing faux-pas.

Salut

Open a French-English dictionary and you’ll see that “salut” is the French “hi”.

Except that it’s not.

Not exactly at least.

While you can frequently hear sellers say “hi”, you’ll only hear French sellers say “salut” if they’re talking to kids or teenagers or work in a shop trying very hard to be cool and trendy.

Think of “salut” as a relaxed version of “bonjour” you use with your friends, family, and people you know well.

Coucou

More informal than “salut”, “coucou” is the French equivalent of “hey there”.

A cool and relaxed greeting you use with friends and people you’re close to.

Salut ! ça va ?

Hi! How are you?

To which your friend could answer:

ça va très bien et toi ?

It’s going great, what about you?

Allô?

Used mostly on the phone to check if there is someone on the line; “allô” is a word you can use in every situation.

Allô? Tu m’entends ? (informal)

Hello? do you hear me?

or

Allô? Qui est à l’appareil ?

Hello? Who is on the line?

or

Allô? Je vous entends mal

Hello? I don’t hear you well

It was also famously used by the reality TV star Nabila to show how terrible her grasp of the French language is her disbelief when she learned that another candidate of the show didn’t have shampoo (yeah such a drama).

4 ways to say “goodbye” in French

Au revoir

Literally “to seeing again”, “au revoir” is the most common way to say “goodbye” in French. You can use it with people you’re on a “vous” basis with.

The French tend to eat words and letters when they speak and you’ll quickly notice that “au revoir” often sounds more like “anrvoir” in real life.

Salut

More than a relaxed way to say “hi” in French, “salut” is the perfect way to say “bye” to your friends, family and other people you know well.

A plus tard

The equivalent of “see you later”, “à plus tard” is a phrase you use when you know you’ll meet someone again soon.

Adieu

“Adieu” is the word you use when you know you’ll most likely never see someone again.

Since you rarely get to know whether you’ll see someone again or not, “adieu” mainly serves as an ironic way to say “goodbye“.

The kind of “goodbye” you say to the co-worker who just threw away important documents by mistakes and now has to talk to his boss about it or to the friend who failed his exam and didn’t tell his parents yet.

Have you ever made faux pas while greeting French people?

Greetings French people without offending anyone may seem like a daunting task, but you’ll quickly get used to it after only a few hours in France.

And don’t worry, people know how intimidating the greeting kiss can be, they won’t be mad at you if you avoid it.

Have you ever made faux pas while greeting French people? What do you find the most intimidating about French greetings?

Answer in the comments below this post! I look forward to reading you :).

My French belle-fille corrected me when we skyped last for saying “au revoir” when we ended the conversation. She indicated that it was too final and she much preferred a bientôt or “a tout a l’heure.”

There isn’t any word for that, because French people generally don’t hug. The closest thing would be “prendre dans ses bras”.

Sheila MacDonald

I have noticed that when my husband and I enter a shop together, the salesperson will say “Bonjour monsieur-dame” as one word. We have learned to always say “Bonjour madame” and “”Au revoir Madame” when leaving.
I strongly feel that foreign language teachers should always teach their students to say some variation of “Excusez-moi” before they ask for directions, information, etc.

I agree. The reason your teacher didn’t teach you “bonjour messieurs-dames” is that many people consider it to be incorrect.

But I honestly believe it’s important to speak they way people speak, and not necessarily the “correct” way.

Frédéric

Great post, a complete guide of french greetings. There’s been an important american influence these last years, for example, you could hear “hey” instead of “salut”, though it’s practiced by the younger, teens essentially.

Benjamin Lau

Nice article! Joli article ! I like the way how you literally translate «bonjour» and other French greetings. It’s such a commonly learnt word that foreigners don’t realise that it’s actually «bon + jour».

A French person replied to my comment on Facebook and he said that «Ça va bien.» as a reply to «Salut ! Ça va ?» is uncommon and the French rarely uses it. But how about «Ça va très bien.», which is not too different?
Shouldn’t «A plus tard», «A demain», «A bientôt», and the rest have a capital ‹À› with an «accent grave» on top? Do the French close one eye on this? 😉
In your article, «ça» should have a capital ‹Ç› when it begins a sentence. It’s spelt as “environment” in English.

There is no clear rule that I know of when it comes to accents on capital letters. I heard they’re mandatory in Canadian French though.

I see the proofreader in you :).

Thylane Jackson

I’m gonna meet my French host family and their kids in a few days. I have talked to the parents before, but not the kids. I’m assuming I have to kiss the parents on the cheek, but what about the kids? (I’m a teenage girl by the way if that matters)

It really depends on how close you are to your boss. As a general rule, I would say no. But if you also meet your boss outside work, regularly eat together etc, then kissing your boss is perfectly fine.

I agree that “enlacer” is technically the translation of “to hug” but it sounds much less casual so I feel that this wouldn’t be a good translation in most situations.

E Groves

I live near Perpignan with my wife.It is normal here to “Faire la bise” with male friends you have known for a long time as well as female friends. Some anglophone acquaintances of ours are unsure when to begin doing the bise. Unless the new people are close friends of close friends the first greeting is more formal (bonjour and handshake). One would not faire la bise with a new female acquaintance until you are friends and it would take much longer with man to man. If you are not sure it is safer to let them take the lead and offer just a handshake. Children of close friends here will always offer a bise – it is best to let them decide.

JCMB

You left out “bonne journée” as a way to say good bye.

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